Imaginary
by folkloric
Summary: Every time they see him, he disappears. Months after the failed chitauri invasion, the mastermind behind the plot begins to appear in the lives of the avengers, never speaking, only pointing in one direction.
1. Figment

"Happy. Happy! I need the suit!"

He's diving out the way of a wrecking ball that slams first into an ornate dining table then into the plush carpet beneath their feet. The impact causes a majority of people to stumble and Thunderball grins and calls out to him as he rolls and tries to gain some distance between them. The lights flicker as the wall explodes with both Captain America and Bulldozer coming through. The latter is laughing as Cap holds his shield up and is trying to hold the madman off. There's dust and plaster raining periodically from the ceiling and though the majority of the guests have escaped from the room, Tony is scanning, looking for the one person he needs.

"Happy!"

"Tony!" It's Natasha behind him. She's standing at the entrance of the servant's hallway. She's already out of her evening dress as the personal secretary to the CEO of Stark Industries, and in her uniform. In her hands she holds the briefcase Tony has been desperately looking for. "Suit up!"

She bodily throws it to him and it flies over, skids and he stops it with his foot. With a flip of the front clasp the case activates. It takes just a moment but it feels like an eternity before the process is done and the darkness around him lights up and JARVIS greets him.

_"SHIELD has already been called, sir."_

"Good. Natasha, where's Happy?"

"He's with Pepper. She was injured." Is all she says before she's running and in a complicated twist, brings Thunderball to one knee as she kicks hard into his ankle. He opens his mouth to speak but Hawkeye beats him to it.

"Not the time," comes Clint's voice over the mic, through the large window that faces the street an explosion goes off as an incendiary arrow hits Piledriver in the back. "Wrecker at 6 o'clock."

Tony doesn't have time to react as Wrecker appears behind him and with a mighty swing of his crowbar launches him into street through said window causing more people scatter and scream. All the screens in the suit go haywire, red words of 'DAMAGE' and '!' highlight various parts of the suit. His tumble creates a gash into the asphalt and he rolls quickly to the side as Wrecker lands just where he was and slams his crowbar into the earth. Still on the ground Tony extends his arm out and fires a repulsor beam which shoves Wrecker into Piledriver. The two villains reorient themselves and Clint releases a barrage of arrows at them as Tony stands.

"Can someone explain why the Wrecking Crew is crashing a dinner party?" Clint asks.

_"I believe they were after the Serpent Crown."_

With a loud metal clang Bulldozer joins them out in the street but doesn't go down. His focus switches from Cap to Iron Man and he charges. From behind him Cap throws his shield and misses barely.

"Woah big guy!" Tony stands his ground at the right moment cues hydraulics to launch him upward, effectively kneeing Bulldozer's helmet hard enough that it wrenches his upper body skyward. In the same movement he plants both feet against the other's shoulders and lets loose the hydraulics again, sending him into a smooth circle in the air and Bulldozer back into the fray with his friends. A signal goes off inside of his helmet and Tony looks to the right and sees Loki standing next to a light pole, a finger pressed to his lips.

_"Sir, SHIELD has arrived."_ JARVIS' smooth voice announces the sound of multiple helicopters and the image of Loki disappears in a flick. Tony turns back to the fight to see Captain America jumping away from the Crew as Hawkeye rains down another barrage of arrows. From the interior of the banquet hall, Thunderball flies past Captain America and into the fray at an unrealistic speed. Standing on the frame of the broken window is Natasha, her hair looking to be a brighter red than normal, the Serpent Crown on her head. There's a halo of snakes around her, making her look hellish than divine.

"That was easy." Is all she says and she takes a step down from window frame and walks over to Cap. She takes off the crown and hands it to Steve, who looks relieved. SHIELD agents rain down from above and Tony looks back to where he saw the image of Loki standing.

"JARVIS, get me Thor."

Debriefings are never short and to the point. The meeting had begun at nine pm and by one am, they were free. Due in part that Tony couldn't take it anymore and essentially walked out, and following his lead was no one. Steve looked tired, uncomfortable but had been unwilling to move, wanting to learn about the data Fury had found. Natasha still needed to be debriefed on what she had learned by wearing the Serpent Crown and Clint refused to leave without Natasha. The elevator was agonizingly slow as it brought him up to the roof and he was glad when it finally dinged and revealed the glistening city of New York.

He takes a deep breath as he takes in the sight before he places the case down and activates it. Another moment and Tony Stark is gone and Iron Man replaces him. A diagnostic is running in the corner of his eye and JARVIS comes to him.

_"Thor has not answered, sir."_

"Obviously," He pushes off the ground and into the air. He loops lazily deciding his direction. "Status update on Pepper?"

_"Non critical condition, she has been treated for a sprained ankle and was released two hours ago."_

"Good. I'll be heading toward the Tower this evening, prep it for me, will you? Also, play some tunes for the ride home."

AC/DC echoes in the lower speakers and Iron Man flies on, making a wide arc before heading home.

Bruce Banner is waiting for him as he lands on the outer deck, and begins to walk inside as JARVIS and the tower system pull off pieces of the suit. Stark Tower was Bruce's private refuge when the sights and sounds of the mansion were too much for him to handle. He was still getting used to being around others who knew his secret and accepted it. Outside of his own room, the tower also has a floor dedicated to research which he used much to the delight of Tony and the disdain to whoever works in the lower portion of the tower. They just didn't appreciate what a good tremble and shake meant when it came from up above(most explosions, Bruce claimed where mostly from Tony, who in turned claimed it was one of Bruce's multiple stress relief balls hitting a wall). Progress wasn't made by those who were hesitant, but then again, if they knew what was happening up in both Tony's and Bruce's floor (Tony had gifted a floor to him, telling him that it reminded him of his days at MIT, except this time, with someone who could keep up with him), they might not have stayed long enough to tender a physical copy of their resignations.

The bar lights are low and several bottles out, one of them on its side as Bruce leans against the bar. In his hand is a tumbler filled with coke and probably several alcohols if the bottles were any indication.

"What's up with you?" The lights brighten just a tad for his entrance, the chilly New York air is replaced with the warm temperature similar to that of his estate in Malibu.

"He was standing where you are." Bruce says, his voice quiet as he looks down at the liquid and downs some of it.

"Who?" Tony looks around, noting that nothing is out of place. The room is still in one piece, none of the wood or glass is shattered. He even looks behind himself and sees nothing there.

"Loki. He just stood there." Bruce pours the rest of the drink in the sink and rinses out the cup and puts it on the side. He stands on the landing and looks at Tony, his hands in his pockets. "He just pointed."

"Where did he point?" Bruce moves to the center of the room where the apparition of Loki had apparently stood and raises his arm. Tony leans over and looks.

"OsCorp? Hm."

Bruce retires and Tony stays up a few more hours going over schematics for his latest design before going to sleep to the sound of Daft Punk's _Robot Rock_ and the sun rising.


	2. Illusory

Pepper is going over the dossier for the contracts between Stark and several nonprofits when she sees it. Beside her is Natasha, dressed as Natalie, going over the same documents, neither of them raising their heads, so engrossed in the tasks as it flickers into existence and quietly waits. It's Happy who alerts them to its presence, as he opens the door he says Pepper's name in a tone she rarely hears and both women's heads snap up.

Loki stands between them, his helmet and staff gone, his gleaming gold looking lackluster. Natasha moves on instinct, a knife is both in and gone from her hand and Happy is forced to close the door as fast as he can to avoid it as it slips through the image without hindrance. On the other side of the door, the knife hits with the sound of a dull knock yet the entire door vibrates. Pepper is stuck in her chair, fear paralyzing her as her mind switches over from panic to analyzing. The image is acting like a pond, the area over Loki's heart where the knife had struck acting as the focal point as ripples move out. The face has gone from blank to pained but it keeps itself together and in one piece. His skin shallow and sickly and for a brief moment the image disappears but then reappears defiantly. He continues to point above Pepper.

"What are you doing here?" Pepper demands. Surprise, confusion and worry are in Pepper's words but the image says nothing as Natasha looks between the pair before crossing the room to stand next to the illusion. Happy opens the door hesitantly, afraid of another knife but audibly comments that thankfully, there isn't one. Natasha waves her hand in front of it and she receives no response. Pepper pushes back her chair and carefully stands up from her desk and walks around. Her left ankle is bandaged and in her low heels (she had a serious debate that morning on heels or flats and then realized, as she had glumly stared at her closest that she had no flats) she carefully moves herself to stand across from the SHIELD operative.

"What is it?" Pepper asks and Happy closes the door. It takes a few tries but he finally is able to get the knife out of the door and admires it.

"Nice throw."

"Thanks." Natasha says, but she doesn't look back to him. She's still studying the image, admiring the depth and detail of it.

"It's a hologram." Natasha says it as she narrows her eyes, looking at the details. She can tell his pulse is moving faster than normal, but then again, how closely related were those of Earth and Asgard physically?

_It looks exactly like him._ She thinks and with one finger touches it and a ripple spreads again. This time the image flickers away with a sizzle and Natasha leans to stand directly where the image was. Both Pepper and Happy explain they don't understand what it means. Do they call Fury? They ask themselves but Natasha stays quiet and stares forward and in return, OsCorp stares back.

It's two weeks after the Wrecking Crew incident and Hawkeye is in Madripoor, specifically in Buccaneer Bay and even more specifically, hanging out on a high tech recreation of a 16th century pirate ship when he sees it. He's been in position for the last three hours, his target for the last two has been happily preoccupied with some of Hightown's finest prostitutes.

Both women are moaning, their tones revealing that they do not actually the feel the intense pleasure their benefactor believes he is giving him. Up in the nest Clint is stuck between lazily waiting for the correct moment or turning away to contact someone, anyone, to speed this along. As another hour crawls by, his moment comes, the girls are picking up their clothes, their backs turned to the target. With a quick shuffle, he's up and moving. His bow is out and he's position as he levels and arrow and patient waits. He's got one shot and that's all he needs.

His target, Ashman, head of a growing crime syndicate in Lowtown, kneels with his back to Barton and Hawkeye releases the shot.

He appears to miss.

The arrow flies past Ashman, the smooth iron tip grazing his neck. Delicately it slips by as the man slaps his neck and it enters the water down below. Hawkeye doesn't duck or move, he doesn't need to. The target nor the women look up and Ashman begins to bitch about mosquitoes and what a nuisance they are. On the headset, he confirms that his mission is complete. In ten minutes time the target will be comatose and from there their contact in Madripoor can pick him and SHIELD can go from there.  
He sees something in the corner of his eye and automatically an arrow has been notched and has flown and another has taken its place. The image of Loki stares at him, sickness clearly ravaging him. The face is thinner, the eyes more sunken. He stand at an angle, his arm pointing to the northwest.

"What are you doing here?" Clint growls and the image disappears with a snap.

Steve is in the mansion when Loki visits. He's sitting in front of the large indoor theater, wrapping up another 'time to get reacquainted with the world' session via movie and television suggestions from the team. He's just finished re-watching The Wizard of Oz (no one can take that one from him) when Loki appears next to him. His body processes the appearance faster than his brain can, his right arm already lashing out as the left pushes him from his seat. His legs shuffle and move back and his shoulders are tense as he takes a deep breath and Loki does nothing.

Steve stands up straighter as he asks JARVIS to raise the lights and when he does, he feels a tight knot in his stomach. Loki appears sickly and gaunt and it stays that way for a moment before it flickers and then recomposes itself to look the way he had when he first appeared on earth. The image of his sickness stays with Steve though, the images of the war playing in his head. Soldiers, refugees, scavengers in various states of distress and death playing in his head and he reaches his hand out.

"Loki?" He asks. The image looks at him, a visible effort on its face as it slowly raises its arm- a hand thin, bony, ravaged and it points in a direction.

"What is it?" The knot is tightening in his stomach but with a sizzle, it's gone. Steve's arm is still raised and he slowly brings it back down. He looks to the corner, to see the camera that acts like the face of JARVIS in the room.

"JARVIS, was that Loki?"

_"No life forms have been detected outside of your presence, sir. Though this image of Loki has appeared before, it hasn't been classified as a being."_

"How many have appeared?"

_"Within Stark premises, seven times. Outside of the premises, there hasn't been a count established."_

"Begin a count."  
Steve leaves the mansion to patrol the city that night. During the patrol, he sees Loki two more times, and when he approaches they fade away. When he returns, he receives a number.

One hundred and sixty seven.


	3. Phantasm

Thor is in California when he sees Loki.

He stands in the valley of redwoods, the new home of his brother as he waits for Jane to go back to the car. She's driven him this far and for that he is grateful, the time spent during their journey they had conversed about what the people he had missed while in Asgard, ruling with his father. Jane had been at an observatory, trying to see if she could spy him from afar. He learns that Darcy has been offered numerous positions due to her work with Jane and that she's declined a majority of them to work at Stark Industries. He had questioned if Tony has had a hand in it and her smile is all that he needs. He has missed Jane during the long months he has been gone but he has missed one person even more.

Only when Jane walks back to the car and he hears the door open and close does he begin. Through the forest he makes his trek, looking for the sign his father said would lead him to his brother. As he travels, the forest's stillness reminds him of his father's court the night his brother was sentenced for his crimes.

_He looks up to his father and he sees nothing._

_His father betrays nothing as he sits on his shining throne, his regalia glowing in the dim light. The court is silent, their usual bright and festive color of dress are somber. The candelabrum burns low and he can't help remember the day he was nearly crowned King. The wild cheers, the elation seems to be that of a foreign era, of a lost time. His friends, the Warriors Three, who had looked so proud on his coronation now stand to his father's left, their faces drawn tight and silent. To his father's right is his mother and when he sees his mother's face, he can't hide his expression. She stands there, her face carefully blank but her stature and eyes speak volumes- she's grieving. He has never seen his mother grieve and to this, he wants to rush forward and pull her close. Demand what has plagued her so and to get rid of it but he knows what ails her and he can do nothing for it. A step below her stands Heimdell and lower than him is the Fair Sif, his friend looking crestfallen. _

_Beside him is his brother, who has not said a word since his request for a drink in Stark's tower. The second heir of Asgard kneels, while he stands. Mjölnir weighs heavy in his right hand and he resists the urge to place is left on his brother's shoulder. He supports his brother and prays for him to forget his madness, but this is not the place to show such things. The braces and the mask are gone, removed when they had reentered the palace. The tesseract resting with the rest of the artifacts within his father's vault. He straightens as his father stands and brings down his spear once._

_There is a pause and then his father's voice carries, so that all can hear._

_"Loki...Odinson. My second born, you have disappointed me."_

_It hangs in the crowd and though he doesn't look he knows his brother betrays nothing. Thor watches as his mother closes her eyes and slowly reopens them, their appearance now glistening._

_"You have betrayed the express command of your king, you have struck an accord with those who wish to hurt the nine realms. You have attacked those of Midgard and in turn, have opened us to war."_

_His brother is still beside him but he remembers his brother's words on the battlefield._

"You can stop this brother!"

"I can not."

_"For your transgressions against both of Asgard and that of Midgard, against that of your family and that of your people, this is what I decree: your lands and your wergild are now forfeit."_

_As he spoke the gold on Loki's person began to break apart and liquefy, the pieces fell from his person and began to gather before him in a shining pool. Thor looked down at it, his face reflecting in the pool and Loki resiliently continued to look forward as the metal left burning trails across flesh if they touched him. _

_"They will go to your brother who in turn, will give it to those who represent Midgard in reparations for what you have done. You will not be banished from Asgard, nor stripped of your title as that of my son, second heir of this throne."_

_At this proclamation, whispers began to break out amongst the courtiers, and an uneasiness spread throughout Thor's body. He had nearly caused war with Jotunheim, and had been cast out of Asgard until he was worthy. Why wasn't his father doing the same to Loki, who had actually caused a war?_

_"Instead, you will be stripped of your power. Your phantasms, and your sorcery can no longer be claimed to you and thus will not answer your call." _

_The final punishment was laid before them and the court gossip swelled. His power gone? Loki, the god of mischief no longer? A fine tremble raced up Loki's back and Thor laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. His brother took in a deep breath and gulped, Thor looked up from his brother and to his father. The Allfather looked down at him, his single eye gleaming amongst his armor. His mother's eyes still glistened and his friends all stood stoic. The court was moving however, pressing against one another and whispering. His father raised his spear once more and brought it down and silence reigned again. In that moment his father, Thor realized, was tired._

_"Loki, my son, is there anything you would like to say?"_

_"Yes, Allfather." Loki responds. Thor hears an edge in his brother's voice and his shoulders tense. His mother upon the dais sways forward. "I accept your punishments, as they are gracious."_

_Loki looks from their father to their mother, and Thor sees her lose color. _

_"Loki," He begins but his brother speaks over him and his word is lost._

_"But I cannot accept your final punishment. You wish to take my sorcery, my phantasms but without both how would I appear as I do now?" He lets his sentence hang in the air and Thor sees his mother close her eyes and visibly tremble and Sif looks up to her. Odin's grip on his spear tightens, as the talk from the courtiers became reignited and with every word Loki said, their voices grew louder. "Like that of the aesir, and not that of a stolen person from another realm. How can I appear as I do now and not the monster that mothers tell their children about at night. How can I-" _

_His words are drowned out by the courtiers, as one of the woman screams out and no longer do they whisper, they openly speak and gossip and others shout above others to be heard. The people turn in amongst themselves as their talk punctuated by loud gasps and accusatory tones grows louder. Thor closed his eyes and opened them as he looked about the crowd and looks to his raven haired kin._

_"What have you done?" He asks lowly and he notices the muscles in Loki's neck and jaw are moving quickly yet his lips are still. Thor looks from his brother and into the crowd, and as those of the dais look up to his father, and his father in turn looks to his mother, they do not see it. His brother, the maker of mischief, is working his magic. Thor can see the multiples of his brother's likeness mixed throughout the crowd, every direction he turns. The words his brother is speaking now, they repeat. _

_Thor had ignored the rumors, the speculations over the years but he knew Loki hadn't. How could he, when it was known by even those of Midgard and the other realms that the children he had bore had not the appearance of the aesir but those of monsters and bastards? The child closest to their appearance had been Hela and she had fled on her day of maturity to her realm of Hel and had never returned to their gilded land. Their father even taken his eldest child, the great Sleipnir, from the birthing bed and had kept him as his own. Not as a child, but as his steed, the greatest of all those in Asgard. _

_Loki picked up the pace when he spoke now, openly moving his lips as the crowd grew more raucous. The suggestion of his right to the throne racing through the crowd and as he worked his magic. (It was only until the next day did Thor realize what he had done. None of the courtiers remembered his speech, they only remembered bits and pieces of it. They remembered his brother's admittance to a monster, yes, though most claimed it was of a child. That his dear brother, Liesmith of Asgard had hidden or stole a child. Thor said nothing to dissuade them of this fact and his friends did the same.) Loki stopped mid-word as Odin raised his spear high and brought it down with a loud crash. A pressure of energy moves out amongst hall, causing Loki to close his eyes and bear it and Thor to take a half step back. There's a coldness in Odin's voice now that Thor hasn't heard in years and within it, a sense of fatigue._

_"Loki Odinson, my son," He punctuates the last two words and everyone within the court who had foolishly not been looking up to him, now turn to him. "You will no longer lose your power, you make keep your phantasms and your sorcery. But in return, you will dwell within Yggdrasil for time that is fit. For within this no one this court will go to you, and in this time you will find peace."_

_"Thank you Allfather, for your mercy and your grace." Is the last words Loki says._

As Thor travelled, lost in his thoughts, he came back to his task at hand when he nearly tripped. He stumbled and caught himself neatly on a fallen tree. It wasn't very large but it was ash, and in a forest of redwoods it stood out proudly though broken. Engraved on the base, large and obvious, was a rune: his father's symbol. Looking at where the tree had been felled, he felt it then: magic, and not Midgardian- but one of Asgard.

As he moved from the rune and continued further still, his hope of reconciliation with his favorite brother began to fade. His pulse picked up pace and then he was brought to a pause, not even a minute after finding the fallen rune, as he is stunned. In the crevasse that is meant to be his brother's home, nothing stands. Massive trees, trees he is sure that he needs Mjölnir to break, lay shattered and broken, their trunks splintered and hollowed. Some are felled with one clean hack, a smooth line once across, their bodies not mangled. As Thor journeys in deeper, the magic of Asgard surrounds him and it conjures up memories of one person: Amora.

He remembers the smell of her perfume, and as he takes a deep breath and realizes he can still smell it- a mixture of Asgardian poppies and spices. It's mixed with the huskier, savory smell of magic and when he approaches a tree that has been blasted through. The scent is so strong, he is given a momentary image of her inside his head and he swears he can still hear her sultry giggle.

He finds Loki's home near the back of circle of felled trees. It had been a mighty ash tree, one in size and stature that it had stood just as tall and had had the width of one of the redwoods. Thor leapt up to the base and knelt on the smooth wood. It had taken both Amora and Skurge to weaken and then cut this tree down, the edges running smooth and innards becoming rough, uneven and gouged.

In the center of the great base there is a depression, big enough to hold Loki if he were to curl up and deep enough to allow him to rest easily. When the son of Odin reaches inside and presses his hand against the stained wood, he felt the cold remainder of the chill of Jotunheim. As he withdrew his hand from the depression, he saw his brother for the first time in months.

Loki stood a few feet away from the stump, his arm raised.

"Brother, what have you done?" Thor asked and jumped down from the tree.

Loki didn't move and as Thor approached, he was given pause.

Loki is sick.

Loki is never sick.

He runs to him, tries to cradle him but he is met only with air. The illusion fizzles out and Thor is left with the prickly sensation of ants crawling over him. He turns to his right and Loki stands beside him again, his arm no longer raised.

"What is wrong?" Thor asks and Loki looks physically pained to raise his arm but he does so, grimacing. The direction he points is to the east, the direction where Jane sits waiting for his return. As he turns to look, the mirage leaves him.

Thor returns to Jane's car and she greets him, an energy drink in one hand, her cellphone in her lap. She's perched precariously on the edge of the driver's side seat with the door open, her bare feet dangling over the grass.

"Tony is looking for you."

The left hook made him stumble for a moment before he reorients himself and gets himself back in the game. He side steps the next jab and aims for his opponent's side. Steve is holding back his punches, Clint knows this but it doesn't stop him. He can take a hit from the best, hell he has, but he's enjoying this moment of camaraderie and admits he won't say anything about it. It's nice to have a partner to spar with and not having it just be Natasha. There was nothing wrong with Natasha, don't get him wrong but her specialty was using her entire body in a fight and not just fists. Sometimes a guy just needed to slug it out with someone and not worry about being flipped several times and landing on his neck.

Tony is still working his way up to their level- he's practiced with Hogan, his chauffeur, but there is a clear difference between boxing with a civilian and someone in their capacity. Banner refuses to join them- he's afraid the Other Guy will come out and a friendly match will turn into a fight for survival. The offer still stands and Steve in turn practices yoga with him much to the former's initial misgivings that have turned into delight.

"We're still a team," had been what Steve said, "we have our own lives and jobs but that doesn't mean we can't take time out to be near one another."

They continue their match until JARVIS announces that dinner should be finished momentarily and would they like to get ready soon? They break apart, Clint reaches for a towel and Steve grabs a water bottle and takes a deep drink.

"Good job." Steve says and he's s smiling

"Thanks. Next time you should let me try it out." Clint motions his head to Steve's shield, which sits polished on the wall. Steve looks him, an uncertain expression on his face.

"Think you can handle it?" Steve asks and Clint smirks, he leaves the ring and exits the room, only to return with his bow. Steve gets down from the ring and looks interested as Clint snaps it open and holds it out to him.

"Try it." Clint says, there's a look on his face as if he's waiting for Steve to get the joke but the taller man looks confused. Steve grasps the bow, the lightness surprising him. Clint takes a step back and makes a sweeping motion. "After you."

Steve gets into the stance he sees Barton take many times, and grabs the notch and pulls back.

The string doesn't budge and the smirk turns into a grin on the archer's face.

"Come on, actually try."

Steve is able to pull it back with more effort than he thought he'd possible but by the end of it Clint is chuckling. He lets go of the string and the bow releases a low _twang _and Clint snorts and takes his bow back.

"How about this. Let's trade? Show me the shield and I show you the bow?"

Clint extends his hand and Steve takes it and gives it a firm shake.

"You've got it."

It's a learning experience for Steve, to be surrounded by people who in their own way understood him and in turn, could keep up with him. Clint gives him a look that agonizingly reminds him of Bucky and the smile is stuck on his face as Clint continues to talk and Steve continues to smile.

"Something wrong?" Clint asks. The smile is gone from Steve's face and he rubs the back of his neck.

"Nothing. It's just, nothing."

Clint drops it.

He awakes in the dark and for that, he is grateful.

The only lights in the room are that of the strange machinations that he has been attached to for the past few days. Had it been days or mere hours? He has lost track of time in the sense of Midgardian time but not of Asgardian. It has been three weeks in Asgardian time, not enough time he knows, for his family to realize he has been released from his prison. He takes a deep breath and in turn releases a staccato of wheezing gasps. Every time he breathes out he feels the dryness of his lips and he weakly tries to wet them. His skin is dry and his joints pop when he flexes his hands, he weakly attempts to press against the bonds that secure him to the metal gurney he is strapped to but he is fruitless.

Above him, he knows rests the bright light that stares down at him when the mortals come to visit. But to his fascination and slowly dawning curiosity, it is missing. Another large metal circle now hovers above him, a large grate covering the front of it. Through weak eyes he peers at it in the dark.

_What is that? _He wonders, and when he tries to move on the gurney he is met with a wet smacking sound as pain blossoms in his side. With a heave, he realizes he had momentarily forgotten the extraction that had happened previously. The wound had been left open, he realizes as a warm liquid begins to seep and curl down his side and pool. He stays still and regains control of himself. He doesn't try to heal himself, no, as he closes his eyes and looks to his left and reopens them.

The runes are still there.

Written into each corner of the room, three neat lines of runes had been placed. He had applauded them in the beginning for doing this research but now he cursed who had done this. His magic was there, pressed deliciously close to the surface but it was useless to him. As long as the four walls stayed solid and broken his prison was complete.

He needs someone to open the door.

It is a small defect, the one imperfection in whoever's plan it had been to capture him. The runes were weakened when the door was open, the wider the opening, the weaker the magic. It was the sole time he was able to do the one thing he hoped would bring attention to his plight. As he lay on the gurney, he takes a dry gulp and stares up at the grated disc above his head. He begins to shift and move, his dry skin making a shuffling sound against the metal. His too thin wrists and ankles, moving with little effort around his binds. The previous day the lights had come on the moment he had begun the move, a mortal talking over him had mentioned something of them being 'motion detected'.

He continues to move when he hears a click and there, he freezes. His mind stalls and he remembers what that noise was. A humming begins low beneath his gurney, and he arches his neck sharply to see if he can get a look at the floor and his heart stutters at what he sees. Fans. Was that the word they had used? As he looked down at the multiple fans, another click sounds and he goes from looking to the floor to up above him. The grate above him stares down, and with a snap a large red bulb turns on and he's forced to look away.

Oh.

He had forgotten what they had been discussing previously before the lights were turned off. Heat. They had wanted to see how he fared in extreme heat.

"Get back here!"

Anaconda's voice is shrill and her punch would have sent a lesser man flying but Steve stands his ground and deflects it with his shield and pushes it aside. He's shocked when he feels a tight pressure wrap itself his ankle and suddenly he's airborne, Anaconda's other hand having wrapped around his ankle, her elongated arm makes an arch as he braces for a hard impact into the ground.

"Avengers!" He shouts into the communication link before stars explode before his eyes as the concrete embraces him. He's a good foot into the ground and the vice is still around his ankle but his opponent isn't tossing him. She's looking back and shouting in the general direction of the bank.

"Puff Adder hurry up! He's called the rest of them!"

With her free arm which is now elongated and swollen, she brushed her blond hair out of her face and looks down at him. Part of her face and hair are covered in blood and she breathes heavily, a dark strain dominating her side from where his shield had hit her. Her face goes from irritation to outright frustration as someone calls out from inside the bank.

"He's trying his best over here! Why don't you do your job and finish him off already and instead of taking cheap shots from _Captain America._ It isn't even Iron Man!" That comes from Cottonmouth, who has walked up to apparently watch the fight. His left foot was on the windowsill and he was leaning forward on it, resting his arms on his raised knee. A grin too large split his face as Anaconda's frustration transformed into fury.

"How dare you-"

"Someone say my name?"

Iron Man is hovering in the middle of the intersection behind Captain America, and Anaconda is _hissing _at him and from his perch at the windowsill Cottonmouth grinds his teeth. Cap uses this momentary distraction to use his free foot to punch his heel into Anaconda's wrist. In surprise her grip slackens and he's able to roll and get himself off the ground in a fluid movement. He turns his back as two repulsor beams slam into her courtesy of Tony and with a mighty swing he send his shield flying into Cottonmouth who nearly dodges it but is caught by his leg. There's a loud crunch and Cottonmouth is down and his shield is bounces back in recoil into the street.

"I swear I thought I heard it." Iron Man states.

"Thanks." Captain America says in return.

Iron Man flies over and lands next to him and Captain America looks down the street to see Anaconda laid out in a heap two cars down. Her left arm still grotesquely disproportioned while the other has turned to a normal size. The bent streetlight's light illuminates the scales on her arms and a slowly darkening pool that's making a halo around her. He turns back to look into the dark before them, now dark and silent, his shield still propped on the street just before the broken glasswork of the door. An uneasiness settles as the sounds of the nightlife in New York come back to the forefront, Steve looks up and he can see civilians peering through their windows. A few of them cheering him on, one of them holding a toy version of his shield. Some hiding behind curtains or blinds, others blatantly peering through and some standing on fire escapes.

"What's the update?" Tony asks. "Do we know what's in there?"

"Serpent Society. Apparently this is where the Serpent Crown was taken after the dinner party last month. I've tagged Anaconda, Puff Adder and Cottonmouth on scene. Anaconda is down, Cottonmouth is down & Puff Adder is an unknown."

His answer about Puff Adder comes as in the form of the vault door flying at the both of them, the large circular disc narrowly missing them as Captain makes a rolling dive and Tony flies up. The door flies into the line of cars that were behind them. The heavy steel door destroys them as they get pushed off of the street and into the a neighboring business. The building itself trembles and the spectators up above scream and move quickly away from the windows. As Captain America rolls, Puff Adder moves to meet him. Three times his normal size, the metahuman greets him with a curse and punch that Captain America isn't able to deflect but he's able to give one in turn.

In the air Iron Man spins once, reorients himself and fires a repulsor blast only to miss as Anaconda, no longer down, grabs him and ties him back to the earth. One hand clutches her head, as she gasps for breath, her skin pale.

"I'd let go if I were you." He tells her and she narrows her eyes. She whispers the word 'no' before she roars as she attempts to bring him down hard, as if he were a balloon and she, the child holding the string.

"JARVIS," Tony's tone is light as a message on his screen illustrates the pressure gauge for the armor and the slowly rising level of distress a hinge is face as Anaconda's grip tightens. "Thrusters."

With a snap like that of a match igniting, he takes off into the air and Anaconda stubbornly refuses to let go and follows him up. They're past the rooftops of the block when a long, thick arm swings into his view and wraps itself up and around his chest and with a heave Anaconda is no longer hanging onto his ankle but wrapped around him.

"Get. off."

"I've always wanted to give you a hug_." _There's a manic grin on her face as she wraps her legs around his waist and _squeezes_. Sensors explode in the suit as the pressure sensors and the words 'PRESSURE BREACH' alert him to failure being imminent if he doesn't extract her but the most pressing thing is that he can't breathe. It feels as if the air has been forcibly shoved out of his lungs and his organs are being rearranged in a manner his body detests. His heart rate picks up and black spots dance in his front of his eyes as the metal of his armor bends inward and presses into soft skin.

_"At the current output she will breach the armor-"_

"JARVIS!" He gasps out, he's trying to pry her off physical but she doesn't budge. The grin is still there, as she rests her head on his metallic shoulder and continues to add additional pressure. "Flares!"

Anaconda shrieks as the flares hit her, leaving scorch marks along her exposed legs and arms and Tony winces as the sound temporarily throws the HUD into a static mess. Her grip dissipates from the flares, so much so that as Iron Man continues to power himself over the city of New York, she loses her grasp. Instinct taking over to shield herself from the flares has made her let go but she tries to correct herself, her arms reaching for him as he looks at her horror as she begins to freefall.

"Shit, JARVIS, reroute-" He doesn't finish his sentence before there's a familiar blur and suddenly there's Thor with Mjölnir and he's got Anaconda around the wait with one arm. She doesn't protest, in fact, her arms have returned to normal and they're wrapped around him in terror.

"Thor!"

"I heard you have been calling for me." There's a grin on his face. "Come, let us descend. We have much to discuss."

They descend back into the street which now is now swarmed with SHIELD agents and reporters trying to get the inside scoop. The bank has been cordoned off and as they land, they see Cap is in charge of the scene, directing officers to go here or there. An ambulance is loading up Cottonmouth, his mouth sealed as it takes a dozen men to lift a still puffed Puff Adder into his own. People are cheering in some of the windows, a few screaming out at them. 'YOU GO CAP!' comes from a particularly loud spectator and Cap is waving up to them.

"You can let go of me." Anaconda is still connected to Thor and she tries to push away from him like a small child trying to escape from a parent. It gets the attention of Steve, who stops waving and heads over to them. Thor releases her and she stumbles before righting herself. Several SHIELD agents approach her and she only sighs.

"You're under arrest-"

"Trust me, I already know." She walks away from the three avengers and into the waiting arms of the agents. She's lead away from them as Tony turns Steve and asks how it went.

"I was able to subdue Puff Adder though Cottonmouth also joined the fight. I wasn't able to secure the Crown however."

"That's-"

"Brother?" Thor speaks, his voice is soft. It stops both Steve and Tony and they look to the direction that Thor is walking to. Loki stands in an alleyway, his arm raised as she points the south east. His face is that of its normal complexion but it's the hand. Even at their distance and with them now walking to catch up to Thor, they can see it. Loki's hand is skin and bone and the closer they come, there are bright veins along his neck.

"Brother, wait!" The image of Loki disappears and it draws the attention of SHIELD againts.

"We've got a Code-"

"Don't call it in!" Steve orders and at the end of the alleyway, Loki appears again.

"Brother, this isn't time for games!" Thor runs then and Steve and Tony follow suit. They make it the other end of the alley and the image of Loki disappears. As they look either direction, Steve points. Across the boulevard, Loki is there again.

"He keeps doing this, what the hell does he want." Tony puts himself into the air and goes to pursuit.

"He's been doing this?" Thor asks and Steve is surprised at the intensity in Thor's gaze.

"I've been keeping track of it, it started appearing to me the last two weeks. I thought I was the only one."

They pursuit Loki for the next half hour, their quest hampered by star struck onlookers who want to take pictures and get their autograph. Before the end of it, in frustration Thor takes flight and Steve is left to taking short cuts and alleys to avoid the crowd. They come together in the plaza of a tall building, his brother stands just on the steps leading into the foyer.

"Brother, what does this mean?"

The image is point downward, its breathe physically labored before it disappears.

"OsCorp." Thor mouths the word in distaste. "What does that mean?"

"It means that we are having a meeting." Is Steve's response.


End file.
